Half a dozen members of the botany section volunteered to go to the Brickfields site to record plants as part of this years Bioblitz at Newtown. Part of the attraction was the promise of a boat trip to this site which is inaccessible by other means. At just after eight am on 2nd June we assembled at Shalfleet Quay where we were met by the harbourmaster who was to take us to the site.We had not bargained for the bitterly cold weather as we waited to don our buoyancy aids.
The harbourmaster explained that the landing stage at Brickfields was damaged in the winter and that landing would be difficult, so we were going to be taken by launch to a buoy close by and that we would then transfer by a smaller boat (a dory) to the site.
Dactylorhiza fuchsii (photo:Dave Trevan)
All this seemed very exciting to those of us not accustomed to being on the water.Once under way we forgot about the cold and enjoyed the trip.
The Brickfields site was warm and tranquil in comparison, and it was exciting to go to an area that no one else visits or records.
Glaux martima (photo:Dave Trevan)
The recording party
We recorded in the meadow, hedgerows, small sections of woodland and the seashore.Altogether over 90 species of plants were recorded in about 2 hours.
The derelict house owned by the family who made the bricks (photo: Dave Trevan)
Notable species observed were large numbers of “Spotted orchid” Dactylorhiza fuchsii, which was present all over the site.Other notable finds were Glaux maritima “Sea Milkwort” on the shoreline, Althaea officinalis the “Marshmallow”,Inula crithmoides “Golden Samphire”.
For a complete set of photos of the Brickfields trip and some of the other Bioblitz sites, click on my Flickr site:
We also found an interesting derelict house on the site which had been owned by the family that made the bricks.
Dave Trevan
